In 2016, pitchers had more Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors than batters

Pitchers earned more Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors than batters in 2016, earned the most Box-Toppers points and far and away had the most Player of the Day honors.

In a comprehensive look at all 2,428 Major League baseball games played and tracked in 2016 by Box-Toppers, here are some key statistics:

Pitchers earned Player of the Game honors more frequently

Most Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors in 2016

Here are the 12 players who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors three or more times in 2016. Three players each earned seven Player of the Day honors, leading all players for 2016. They were Box-Toppers top three-ranked players for the season—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez. Players are listed here by number of times they earned Player of the Day (PoD). Also listed are their Box-Toppers point (BTP) totals for 2016 and their rank among all players in Box-Toppers points.  

PoD Player Team BTP Rank
7 Max Scherzer Nationals 25.7 1
7 Clayton Kershaw Dodgers 24.4 2
7 Jose Fernandez* Marlins 22.4 3
5 Jake Arrieta Cubs 15.7 9
4 Noah Syndergaard Mets 16.7 7
4 Carlos Carrasco Indians 12.4 28
3 Corey Kluber Indians 21.2 5
3 Justin Verlander Tigers 14.7 12
3 Jason Hammel Cubs 13.0 20
3 Michael Fulmer Tigers 12.7 23
3 Steven Matz Mets 12.1 32
3 Yu Darvish Rangers 10.4 51
* Jose Fernandez died Sept. 25.

Pitchers won Player of the Game honors in 1,390 games, while batters were top player in a team win in 1,038 games. That means pitchers won Player of the Game in 57.2 percent of games, while batters won in 42.8 percent.

Pitchers earned the most Box-Toppers points

Pitchers outearned batters in Box-Toppers points in 2016 by 1,661.9 to 1,223.9. That means pitchers had 57.6 percent of all 2,885.8 Box-Toppers points awarded in 2016.

Pitchers had the most Player of the Day honors

But the statistic in which pitchers blew away batters was the number of Player of the Day honors. Of the 179 days in the 2016 season, pitchers earned Player of the Day honors 165 times, compared to only 14 for batters. That means pitchers earned 92.2 percent of all Player of the Day honors in 2016.

Why is this? Pitchers have more potential to earn higher Box-Toppers game scores than batters, which makes sense if you consider that pitchers are directly involved in and contributing to each play and can be involved for roughly half the game, while batters are involved in maybe 10 percent of the play while their teams are at bat.

In the 2,428 games played in 2016, pitchers who earned Player of the Game honors had the 148 highest Box-Toppers game scores. Of the 318 highest Box-Toppers game scores in 2016, batters are represented only 18 times.

Earning Player of the Day honors so frequently helps boost pitchers overall Box-Toppers points. A player who earns Player of the Day receives a bonus Box-Toppers point, earning 2.0 points each time they are the day’s top player.

Pitchers earned more league Player of the Day honors

Pitchers also outearned batters in league Player of the Day honors. These are given to the top player of the day in his league who does not earn overall Player of the Day honors. Players who win American League or National League Player of the Day honors earn 1.7 Box-Toppers points (receiving 0.7 bonus Box-Toppers points).

League Player of the Day honors were awarded in 179 days during 2016, more frequently in the AL (108) than the NL (71), meaning that NL players more frequently won overall Player of the Day honors.

Of the 108 AL Player of the Day honors, 88 were won by pitchers and 20 by batters.

Of the 71 NL Player of the Day honors, 64 were won by pitchers and seven by batters.

That means pitchers won 84.9 percent of all league Player of the Day honors, still an overwhelming majority, but less than the 92.2 percent of all overall Player of the Day honors.

League Batter of the Day honors

During 2016, there were 307 times when batters won league Batter of the Day honors.

These are given to the top AL and NL batters who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors and who did not otherwise win overall Player of the Day or league Player of the Day honors. Winning Batter of the Day honors is worth 1.5 Box-Toppers points (with the bonus 0.5 points). So without this bonus, batters would have earned 153.5 fewer points or about 12.5 percent of batters’ total 1,223.9 points earned in 2016. (Though it should be noted that pitchers twice won league Batter of the Day honors in 2016—Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals won on May 2 and Gerrit Cole of the Pirates won on May 26. They were among seven pitchers who earned Player of the Game honors for batting.)

Bonus points

Box-Toppers bonus points of some kind for Player of the Day, league Player of the Day or league Batter of the Day were awarded in 665 of the 2,428 games played. So bonus points were awarded in more than a quarter of all games—27.4 percent.

There were 457.8 bonus points awarded during 2015, which is 15.9 percent of all 2,885.8 points awarded in 2015.

No-decision pitchers earning Player of the Game honors

Pitchers who did not earn a win or save won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors 234 times in 2016. That means no-decision pitchers won 16.8 percent of all 1,390 Player of the Game honors won by pitchers in 2015.

There were 12 times no-decision pitchers earned overall Player of the Day honors. No-decision pitchers won league Player of the Day honors 19 times.

Box-Toppers awards pitchers who made key contributions to their team’s win even if they did not earn the win or save.

Most Player of the Day honors

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez each won Player of the Day honors seven times during 2016, the most of any player.

Unsurprisingly, Scherzer, Kershaw and Fernandez were the top three players in Box-Toppers points in 2016, boosted by the 14.0 Box-Toppers points they each earned for their Player of the Day honors. Scherzer led all players with 25.7 Box-Toppers points, Kershaw was second with 24.4 and Fernandez was third with 22.4. Fernandez was killed in a boating accident Sept. 25, prior to the final week of the season.

Batters who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Day in 2016

In the 179 days of the 2016 season, batters won Player of the Day honors 14 times, with pitchers winning the other 165 times. Here are the 14 batters who earned Player of the Day honors in 2016, listed chronologically. Also shown is each batters Box-Toppers game score (Score) on the day they were top player. For details of each player’s performance that earned them Player of the Day honors, click the date link to see that day’s Box-Toppers report.  

Date Score Player Game
4/7 8.0 Anthony Rizzo, 1B CHC 14, ARI 6
5/7 8.0 Aaron Hill, 3B MIL 13, CIN 7 (10)
5/16 4.0 Matt Joyce, RF PIT 8, ATL 5
6/18 8.0 Kendrys Morales, DH KC 16, DET 5
6/23 5.0 Freddy Galvis, SS PHI 7, MIN 3
6/24 5.0 George Springer, RF HOU 13, KC 4
6/27 10.0 Kris Bryant, 3B-RF-LF CHC 11, CIN 8
7/8 9.0 Yasmani Grandal, C LAD 10, SD 6
8/6 9.0 Ryan Braun, LF MIL 15, ARI 6
8/18 9.0 Kris Bryant, 3B CHC 9, MIL 6
9/1 5.0 Christian Yelich, CF MIA 6, NYM 4
9/18 7.0 Seth Smith, RF SEA 7, HOU 3
9/21 7.0 Gary Sanchez, C NYY 11, TB 5
9/26 7.0 Adam Duvall, LF CIN 15, STL 2

There were 12 players—all pitchers—who had three or more Player of the Day honors in 2016. There were 43 players who earned Player of the Day honors more than once and only one of them was a batter. Kris Bryant of the Cubs led batters in Player of the Day honors with two—on June 27 and Aug. 18. Bryant had 10.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, second among NL batters.

Lowest Box-Toppers game score to earn Player of the Game honors

0.0—Rougned Odor of the Rangers on April 27 had the 2,428th-ranked Box-Toppers game score to earn Player of the Game honors in 2016. Odor went 1-for-2 and scored one run in the 3-2 win over the Yankees. He was among 18 batters who earned Player of the Game honors in 2016 with a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0. Odor had the lowest overall score based on tiebreakers—in his case, he had the fewest at bats of any Player of the Game who had a game score of 0.0.

Lowest Box-Toppers game score to earn Player of the Game honors by a pitcher

+0.2—Rangers pitcher A.J. Griffin on June 29 had the 2,410th-ranked Box-Toppers game score to earn Player of the Game honors in 2016. Griffin gave up three runs and five hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out six, in the 5-3 win over the Orioles.

Lowest Box-Toppers game score to earn bonus points

0.0—Mitch Moreland of the Rangers earned AL Batter of the Day honors (earning the bonus 0.5 Box-Toppers points) with the lowest Box-Toppers game score of the day on June 9. No other AL batter earned Player of the Game honors that day—in the five other games won by AL teams, pitchers earned Player of the Game honors. Moreland doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 10-3 win over the Twins. Moreland’s game score, based on tiebreakers with others who scored 0.0, was ranked 2,418th among the 2,428 Players of the Game in 2016.

Lowest Box-Toppers game score to earn bonus points by a pitcher

+2.1—Tigers pitcher Alex Wilson earned AL Player of the Day honors (earning the bonus 0.7 Box-Toppers points) on June 23. Wilson pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing no hits or walks and striking out one, in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Mariners. He picked up a no decision because the game was tied when he exited after the eighth inning, 4-4. The performance was ranked 1,876th among the 2,428 Player of the Game honors of 2016.

Lowest Box-Toppers game score to earn league Player of the Day honors

+2.0—Byron Buxton of the Twins earned AL Player of the Day honors (earning the bonus 0.7 Box-Toppers points) on Sept. 1. Buxton hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-3 in the 8-5 win over the White Sox. Buxton’s game score ranks 2,084th among the 2,428 games played in 2016.

Lowest Box-Toppers game score to earn Player of the Day honors

+4.0—Matt Joyce of the Pirates earned overall Player of the Day honors (earning the bonus 1.0 Box-Toppers point for a total of 2.0) on May 16. Joyce homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-5 win over the Braves. Joyce’s game score ranks 1,073rd among the 2,428 games.

Lowest Box-Toppers game score to earn Player of the Day honors by a pitcher

+6.0—Brewers pitcher Chase Anderson earned overall Player of the Day honors (earning the bonus 1.0 Box-Toppers point for a total of 2.0) on April 8. Anderson pitched five scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out five, in the 6-4 win over the Astros. Anderson’s game score ranks 694th among the 2,428 games.

Highest Box-Toppers game score to earn no bonus Box-Toppers points

+20.0—Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia had the sixth-best Box-Toppers game score for a Player of the Game in 2016 on April 14, but earned no bonus Box-Toppers points. Garcia had the second-highest score of the day, behind Player of the Day, Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +22.0, the single highest score in 2016 for a Player of the Game. Garcia pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out 13 and walking one in the 7-0 win over the Brewers.

2,428 games

There were 2,430 Major League Baseball games scheduled in 2016; 2,428 were played. That means two games weren’t played and of the 30 Major League teams, 26 played complete, 162-game schedules and four teams each missed one game, playing 161. The two games that were missed: 

In addition, one of the 2,428 games played in 2016 ended in a tie. On Sept. 29, rain shortened the Cubs-Pirates game in Pittsburgh at six innings in an official tie at 1-1. Since the outcome would not affect either team in the standings so late in the season, the game was left as a tie, with player statistics counting. In rare cases of ties, Box-Toppers still determines Player of the Game as the person on either team who had the highest qualifying Box-Toppers game score. That was Ivan Nova of the Pirates (5.1IP 4H R 0BB 5K ND, giving him a Box-Toppers game score of +4.1). There were 234 instances in 2016 of a pitcher earning Player of the Game honors while picking up a no-decision. Nova’s, obviously, is the only one in which no player on either team earned the win or the save.

The Cubs-Pirates tie on Sept. 29 was the first tie in baseball in more than a decade. The previous tie was June 30, 2005, when the Astros and Reds tied, 2-2. 

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

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